Badminton star Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia has been appointed as a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) goodwill ambassador.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 (Bernama) -- With only eight days to go before the Thomas and Uber Cup competitions at the Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil, efforts to promote the prestigious championship have not been encouraging.

A check by Bernama around the federal capital and at the country's main entry point, the KL International Airport (KLIA), no banners or posters on the championship had been put up to inform the public.

Local badminton fans generally are disappointed at the attitude of the organisers of the championship, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), who seemed to ignore the promotion campaign.

Azrul Anuwar Abdullah, 35, said BAM should have promoted the championship from early this year instead of waiting till the last moment to carry out the promotion.

"We are not only trying to attract the interest of Malaysians, but also the foreigners to come and watch the championship," he said when met by Bernama at the KLIA international arrival hall, on Saturday.

Azrul Anuwar, a production executive with a private firm, said the championship offered the best opportunity which should be utilised wisely by the organisers to generate income from the sport which was one of the most popular sports in the country.

Another badminton fan, Ramli Buang, 50, from Sarawak, also expressed disappointment at the poor promotion.

"It's not often that we get to host the event. So, what is wrong in maximising the opportunity to promote the event on a large scale.

"The people in Sarawak and Sabah generally do not know the actual dates of the tournament," he said.

Ramli said promotion through the mass media and other channels should have started much earlier.

Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at Stadium Putra found that very few posters on the Thomas and Uber Cup were being put up.

The last time Malaysia hosted the Thomas Cup was in the year 2000 and the Malaysian squad had failed to shine in that edition.

The last time Malaysia won the championship was in 1992 when the tournament was held at Stadium Negara where Malaysia beat Indonesia 3-2.

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